Star @ UTEP

Steps Toward Advancing Research (STAR) @ UTEP Grant Writing Workshop – 2024-2025

Request for Applications (RFA)

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)’s Research & Innovation division, is excited to announce the Steps Toward Advancing Research (STAR) @ UTEP Grant Writing Workshop. This program provides UTEP faculty with a valuable opportunity to develop competitive proposals for submission to major funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The STAR @ UTEP program offers intensive grant-writing training combined with personalized coaching from nationally recognized experts.

Purpose

Facilitated by the NRMN-STAR Coaching Group, the STAR @ UTEP program aims to enhance research success by providing faculty with intensive grant-writing training and professional development. Through group-based and individual coaching, participants will be guided toward preparing strong proposals for submission. The program also offers opportunities to interact with content experts and program officers relevant to participants' research fields.

Key Program Features

• Personalized Grant Writing Coaching: In-person coaching sessions with experienced grant writers.
• Expert Guidance: Access to content experts for tailored feedback to strengthen your proposal.
• Collaborative Writing Sessions: Team-based writing sessions with fellow faculty members.
• Hybrid Format: A combination of virtual and in-person sessions designed to guide participants from proposal development to submission.
• Professional Development: Additional training on topics critical to long-term research success.

Timeline

• Application Opens: Late October 2024
• Application Due: Sunday, November 10, 2024
• Participant Selection & Notification: Friday, November 15, 2024
• Program Duration: November 2024 to August 2025

Designed to support participants’ progress toward grant submission, there are 7 workshops. They include 2 full-day in-person meetings and shorter 1-day virtual sessions. Dates and times are to-be-determined, Below are tentative dates:

Eligibility

UTEP faculty committed to developing grant proposals for submission to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the National Science Foundation (NSF) are encouraged to apply. Participants must prioritize participation in all program activities and meet deadlines for submitting proposals in the next funding cycle.

 Application Process

Application Process Faculty interested in participating must apply through InfoReady by Sunday, November 10, 2024. The application includes the following:

1. A statement of interest in the workshop.
2. A commitment to prioritizing attendance at all meetings and completing associated work.
3. The research area or topic you intend to develop.
4. The agency you plan to submit to (NIH or NSF) and any specific funding opportunity announcement (FOA) you are targeting.

Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated based on the potential for developing a successful grant proposal. Priority will be given to faculty aiming for NIH or NSF submissions and demonstrating strong research motivation.

Contact Information

For more information about the STAR @ UTEP program or the application process, please contact ResearchDev@utep.edu.

About NRMN-STAR

The NRMN-STAR Coaching Group was subsequently modeled on STAR (Dr. Jamboor Vishwanatha and Dr. Harlan P. Jones, Program Directors) (1). Its unique focus is recruiting faculty from historically under-resourced colleges and universities who need more than three- to six-month grant writing experience. Trainees of NRMN-STAR are selected based on their motivation and potential to develop a research project, with the understanding that many will require supplemental training. To meet this need, TCHD designed a 12-month curriculum. Its structure recognizes that junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows often need help to accept a summer-long fellowship requiring an extended absence from home and family. NRMN-STAR, therefore, combines on-site professional development and education with distance learning, including online digital meetings and a resource repository. Throughout the year, participants develop research proposals, to prepare a complete proposal to submit during the next NIH grant cycle.

The NRMN-STAR coaching model is integral in facilitating grant writing and professional development. Coaches are established faculty from across the U.S. with extensive grant writing experience and interest in training early-stage researchers. Each coach is typically matched with two trainees, forming a coaching team based on research interests. NRMN-STAR also utilizes “content coaches” to augment the grant writing process. Content coaches offer discipline-specific content expertise to trainees. They begin their training by attending a two-day kickoff meeting where they learn about the program curriculum and the principles of NRMN-STAR. Next, they engage in real-time with the NRMN-STAR curriculum, as facilitated by the program directors. In addition to intensive coaching interactions within their teams, trainees and coaches benefit from activities in which the entire cohort forms a working group. This peer-to-peer experience builds a community of learners and fosters a broader exchange of best practices in grant writing and professional development (2).

References

1. Implementation of The Steps Toward Academic Research (STAR) Fellowship Program to Promote Underrepresented Minority Faculty into Health Disparity Research. Vishwanatha JK, Jones HP. Ethn Dis. 2018 Feb 1;28(1):3-10. doi: 10.18865/ed.28.1.3. eCollection 2018 Winter. PMID: 29467560

2. Enhancing research careers: an example of a US national diversity-focused, grant-writing training and coaching experiment. Jones HP, McGee R, Weber-Main AM, Buchwald DS, Manson SM, Vishwanatha JK, Okuyemi KS. BMC Proc. 2017 Dec 4;11(Suppl 12):16. doi: 10.1186/s12919-017-0084-7. eCollection 2017. PMID: 29375659